The Dark Side of the Moon

Prologue

June 1966

There, in the midst of dense forest, stood a man. Slicked-back, jet-black hair sat atop an abnormally elongated head. Ghostly features graced his unnaturally stretched face. Below the crown, his body too was lengthened, giving him undead thinness. His appearance would have frightened many, but more worthy of fear was his purpose. Before him, held over a fire by a sheet of black metal grating with four black metal legs, a cauldron bubbled. Pale skin parted to reveal a satanic smile. Taking a metal rod in hand, the man began to stir. The concoction turned from a grey to a deep purple, and he stopped stirring. His free hand opened and a bag flew into it. After placing the rod down gently, he removed its contents - a dried bone. He put the bone into the potion and resumed his stirring.

Minutes passed and the full moon began to rise. Urgency gripped the strange man, and he stirred harder. Finally, a faint pop was heard and the potion turned deep red. This part of his experiment had ended; now he was ready for the test. Taking a wand from his pocket, he extinguished the flame and conjured a maple-wood chair. He sat back, closed his eyes, and focused intently on his surroundings.

In his mind, the man could feel the birds in the sky and the small woodland creatures all around him. In the distance, he could feel the residents of Greater Hangleton. Easily he dismissed the muggles - muggles meant more Ministry involvement if all went according to plan, and he wished to keep this test as unremarkable as possible. But soon, he found those he knew were there - a small family; a wizard, his muggle wife, and their half-blood son. They would be his victims.

He opened his mind again. He was searching for a very specific pattern, one that he had taught himself to recognize one month previous. His experiment would need not only victim subjects, but an attacker subject as well. He poured all his focus and all his power into finding this attacker - and finally he recognized the mindless violence and torn power. He had found his werewolf.

The man rose from his chair and banished it. He went over to the bag from which he had taken the bone and took out its other cargo - a fresh chunk of venison. Using the stirring rod as a poker, he stuck the meat on the rod and dipped it into the potion. After holding it there for a moment, he removed it and placed a spell on it. Immediately, the saturated meat stopped dripping. He placed it back in the bag and turned back to the cauldron. After emptying its contents into a clay jar, he headed to the west.

After traveling a mile and a half through forest near the Hangletons, the man found what he searched for. The huge wolf looked content. Blood dripped from its mouth - it just had its supper. The man gingerly placed the meat and hid himself, hoping the allure of venison would convince this werewolf to feast again.

Sure enough, the werewolf ate the meat, and the wizard stepped out from his place of hiding. In a flash, he took out his wand and set two adjacent trees on fire. The werewolf stared at him and he stared back. He spoke, his voice high, but commanding: "As you look at me, you look upon your master. You shall do as I say, my commands to you are your thoughts." The wolf continued to stare and the man ordered him to pass between the trees of flame. The wolf did so and the man's pale features once again broke into a grin. The potion had given him a powerful servant.

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"Sorry, Mommy!" Remus Lupin took his blue pawn and knocked his mother's green back to start. Remus had been about to score, and so his mother used an "11" card to switch, placing his pawn halfway around the board. But on his next move, the five-almost-six-year-old boy got a "Sorry" card, and replaced the pawn with a new one in scoring position. Sorry was a simple muggle game, a game for children, that was meant to last no more than ten minutes. This game, between John Lupin, his wife Faye, and his son Remus, had gone on for an hour already.

Had they not been so engrossed in their violent game of Sorry, perhaps they would have noticed an intruder coming dangerously close. In an uncharacteristically stealthy manner, a werewolf continued to inch forward, closer and closer to the Lupins' game. Finally, Remus threw one of his pawns in frustration (Daddy had just "Sorry"ed him back to start), and John got up from their picnic table to retrieve it. In horror, he noticed the huge wolf and recognized it as a werewolf. John took out his wand and attempted to take the beast down with a Stunner, but it had no effect on the magical monster. The werewolf charged forward and hit the man flat on his back, knocking him out. Strangely, the werewolf did not harm the man, but instead turned his attention to the young boy.

In desperation, Faye had run into the house. She took a rifle off the mantelpiece (it had been her grandfather's, but for some reason, she kept it loaded) and took aim at the creature. She shot a bullet straight between the werewolf's eyes, shattering the glass door.

A few moments later, officials from the Ministry of Magic showed up to respond to the emergency. John had suffered a mild concussion and had been revived on the site, and Faye had not been harmed. Remus Lupin, on the other hand, had been bitten in his chest. The Lupins were rushed off to St. Mungo's.

In the back of their yard, far off from the house, a ghostly man grinned at his success. He allowed himself a shrill laugh, for with this success he had found a new power, even if it would go unused for forty years...